Lake McBride fishing: Largemouth Bass, Muskellunge, Walleye

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Muskellunge, Walleye, Spotted Bass, Channel Catfish, Redear, Sunshine Bass

The lake

Lake McBride covers 866 acres in Iowa, across Johnson County. It is a lake: 90.4% of it is 27 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is 45 feet (13.7 m). Our records hold 8 species for this water.

7 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Muskellunge — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Spotted Bass — Feeding water: 65–80°F.
  • Channel Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Redear — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Sunshine Bass — Feeding water: 70–80°F. Nonnative.

Also recorded here: Northern Pike.

Depth: down to 45 ft at the deepest measured point

Deepest measured point: 45 ft (13.7 m). 90.4% of the water is 27 feet or shallower. We hold 836 depth contours for this water, drawn from 13,606 soundings.

Summer at Lake Macbride State Park, Iowa (36274569340).jpg
Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • 0–3 ft: 11.3% of the water
  • 3–6 ft: 10.5% of the water
  • 6–9 ft: 13.1% of the water
  • 9–12 ft: 12.6% of the water
  • 12–15 ft: 11.8% of the water
  • 15–18 ft: 9.1% of the water
  • 18–21 ft: 7.4% of the water
  • 21–24 ft: 8% of the water
  • 24–27 ft: 6.6% of the water
  • 27–30 ft: 2.9% of the water
  • 30–33 ft: 2.4% of the water
  • 33–36 ft: 2.5% of the water
  • 36–39 ft: 1.5% of the water
  • 39–42 ft: 0.4% of the water

Stocking: 35,338,702 fish, 2012–2025

Iowa DNR records list 35,338,702 fish released into this water from 2012 to 2025.

  • Walleye: 30,252,154 in 2012–2025
  • Largemouth Bass: 33,000 in 2013–2014
  • Channel Catfish: 29,204 in 2012–2019
  • Muskellunge: 9,939 in 2012–2025

2 more species on the stocking list.

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 74°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. The coldest single reading we hold is 49°F and the warmest is 85°F; the warmest monthly average is 81°F. pH averages 8.6. These readings span 2017–2024.

Where this data comes from

  • U.S. Geological Survey — USGS inland bathymetric surveys: class A, a survey of the bottom, 2003.
  • Iowa DNR — Iowa DNR: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • EPA NLA — EPA National Lakes Assessment: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map, 2007.
  • Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.